Process of pickling meats.



c. B. TRESGOTT. PROCESS 0F PIGKLING MEATS. APPLICATION FILED PEB. 10, 1912.

Patented Feb. 1.1, 1913.

K X7/20672 Cczrfs 56.560274.

CHARLES B. TBESCOTT, F INDIANAPOLIS, INDINA, ASSIGNGR 0F ONE-HALF '1'0- JOSEPH ALLERDICE, 0F INDIANPULIS, HDAN.

PROCESS 0F PIGKLING- MET Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented ret. ai, rois.

Application led February 10, 1912. Serial no. 676,846.

Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of indiana, have invented a new andv useful improvement in Processes of Pickling Meats, of which the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to an improvement in the art of producing salt meats (ham,v

l bacon, beef, fish and other meats) by curing them in brine 'As is well known in the art, the pickle i or brine is liable to become sour, and thus spoil the meat treated with it; and this tendency to souring is augmented, by fermento,- tion, when sugar is added to the brine, as is commonly done in pickling the better grades of meat to impart desired davor thereto,

The primary object of my invention is tol counteract the souring tendency referred to, and this l accomplish by treating the pickle in the manner hereinafter described.

A further object of my invention is to improve, by way of supplementing', the process of Letters Patent No. 1,016,656, granted to me February 6, 1912, for a process of curing meats.

The accompanying drawing shows, by a view in the nature of a diagram, apparatus suitable for the practice of my improved process.

The supply of brine is made in an elevated tank 1 having a discharge-pipe 2 provided with a valve 3 yand leading to a mixing tank 4, equipped with a pressure-gage 5. AA drum 6, containing liquefied carbonicacid gas is controllably connected with the lowerpart of the tank 4 by a pipe 7 containing a valve 8; and the mixing-tank is connected with a pickling-barrel or tank 9 by a pipe 10 provided with a valve 11.

After mixing the proper quantity of salt with water in the tank 1, the brine is run, upon opening the valve 3, intothe tank 4 to ll the latter, whereupon that valve is closed andthe valve 8 is opened to' admit carbonio acid gas from the drum into the tank 4: to charge the brine therein with the gas, preferably with a high pressure, say, up to fifty pounds, though the pressure of the gas 1n the brine need not be higher, for the purpose of my process, than atmospheric. The carbonic acid gas content of the brine exerts its known preservative eect on the latter, preventing the development therein of the sourlng cause.

Where meatuntreated by the process oi my aforesaid patent, (namely without havlng its contained air supplanted by carbonio' acid gas) is immersed in the .pickle 'contained in the barrel 9, charged, as described, with carbonio-acid gas, it is preferable to h ave a high pressure of the gas in the brine, since otherwise the meat may absorb more or less of the gas out of the pickle and thereby reduce the quantity thereof below that required to maintain the immunity oi' the pickle to souring; whereas, nwith a superabundant quantity of gas inthe brine, such portion of the gas as enters the meat will not unduly rob the liquid and will, moreover, exert its preservative effect on the meat itself. Besides, and as Aanother important advantage of highly charging the brine with the gas, the Ipressure of the latter expedites the curing action of the pickle on the meat inasmuch as it tends to force the salt more rapidly into the meat, and also to expedite penetration thereof by the gas to the innermostv parts of the meat with the advantage of supplanting the air therein before putrefaction of the meat can begin. l intend it to be understood as being within my invention, however, to cure meat by submergzjnf;Y it for the proper length of time in carbonated brine pickle of a specific gravity greater than that of sea-water.

When the pickle, without being charged with carbonio-acid gas, is used on meat preparatorily treated by the process of my aforesaid patent, it is found that it tends to extract from the meat' more or less of its contained gas, and thus acts detrimentally to the process, to the extent of-sueh extraction. It' is, therefore, desirable in the practice'of the patented process, to prevent any vmaterial loss of the carbonio-acid gas from the meat impregnated therewith, andthis object is elfectively accomplished by charging the brine with carbonio acid gas to any desirable pressure thereof preparatory to immersing ,the meat in it; and then, if it be desired to expedite the curing action,it is best to charge the brine with a high degree of pressure for the reason hereinbefore stated.

WhatI claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent i's- 1. The process of curing meat, which consists in preparing a brine pickle of aspecic 5 gravity greater than that of sea-Water,

charging said pickle with carbonic-acid gas to a pressure materially exceeding atmos pheric pressure, and immersing in and subjecting to the action of the pickle so charged y the meat to be cured.

3. The process of curing meat, which consists in driving out its contained air and supplanting such air with carbonic acid gas, and subjecting the charged meat to the pickling action of brine charged with carbonic acid gas.

4. The process of curing meat, which consists in driving out its contained air and supplanting such air with carbonio acid gas, and subjecting the charged meat to the action of a brine pickle charged with carbonio acid gasto a pressurefcontent thereof materially exceeding atmospheric pressure.

CHARLES B. TRESCOTT. In presence o L. HEISLAR,

R. SGHAEFER. 

